Actions to Take for Seed Freedom
(From Presbyterian Hunger Program and the US Food Sovereignty Alliance)
I. INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS:
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Travel with us, witness and support struggles from communities working on protecting
their seeds in India and El Salvador this year. To see the list of trips available to join, click
here
See the map from Via Campesina on the global mobilization on April 17 th
If you have access to space, grow your own plants and harvest seeds to share and
exchange with others. See Organic Seed Alliance’s “Seed Saving Guide” for more.
Join a seed library, seed bank, or seed exchange. See “Resources” section for
information about some of the existing groups.
Learn more about seeds and the food system. Check out the ”Resources” section for
some ideas of where to start.
Eat Good, Slow Food: Prepare a meal for your family using heirloom varieties
and discuss the nutrient value of wilder species versus their domesticated varieties. For
example, Peruvian Purple potatoes have 171 milligrams of phytonutrients compared to
the Yukon Gold variety (5.45 mg) or the standard white potato (1.03 mg)! Share the report from the US Food Sovereignty Alliance with others in your local
community and online through social media and website posts. Consider sharing it with
your representatives in the House and Senate. (Report will be posted on
www.pcusa.org/internationalfarmers.)
II. COMMUNITY ACTIONS:
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Convene a community and/or faith group to study local plants, native/indigenous seeds,
and issues around seed patenting. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper
about the need to protect seed varieties from privatization.
Organize to Defend Seeds: If you can’t find a seed library or community seed bank in
your neighborhood, create one! Gather your local farmers and gardeners to build a seed
bank in your local library by ‘checking-in’ your most successful breeds and ‘checking-out’
the champions among fellow breeders. For inspiration, read about the partnership
between Basalt Public Library and the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute to
find out how it can be done, and watch this webinar from the Center for a New
American Dream to learn more. View: Host a discussion groups and view the film Seeds of Freedom or the recorded
webinar -- GMOs: The "Facts" on Health, Environment, Farmer Impact, Control in the
U.S. and the World.
Study: Start a short-term reading group to study La Vía Campesina’s publication: Our
Seeds, Our Future, or to study the articles on Seeds and Peasant Sovereignty in the
2013 Right to Food and Nutrition Watch, which was released on the 2013 World Food
Day.
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Coordinate learning exchanges: Come together with other people in your community,
or with other communities around the region, nation, or around the world, to share
practical lessons on how to do seed saving, how to organize seed libraries, and what
strategies to use to fight for seed sovereignty. Declare Your Community a Seed Sovereignty Zone: Building on models of local
declarations passed in Navajo communities, as a result of the efforts of the Black Mesa
Water Coalition, bring people together in your community to define what seed
sovereignty would look like where you live, and then get your local government to pass
a resolution recognizing your local rights. [see this on food sovereignty ordinances in
Maine]
Fight for Seed Freedom: Join a 'Seed Keepers' group. Contact the US Food Sovereignty
Alliance’s Rights of Mother Earth/Defense of the Commons workgroup at
[email protected] or call Sara at 617.524.1400.
III. DOMESTIC/NATIONAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:
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Enforce anti-trust laws such as the Sherman Act, and use these in combination with the
authority of the USDA (which extends beyond concentration to include unfair and
deceptive practices) to ensure open and competitive seed markets.
Hold biotech companies, not farmers, responsible for drift of transgenic material (from
GM plants).
Return to the Plant Variety Protection Act, rather than patent law, as the main legal
framework to regulate seed ownership.
Put a moratorium on deregulation of all additional genetically engineered seeds
(including those currently in the pipeline) until a more effective regulatory framework is
in place.
Instead of investing millions in so-called “climate-smart” biotech seeds, address the root
causes of climate change, and promote climate-resilient agroecology.
Invest in more public-sector, non-patented, conventional seed research based on
existing knowledge, such as that held by Indigenous Peoples, family farmers, and urban
gardeners. Ensure that all researchers and practitioners have equal and unrestricted
access to genetic material for the purpose of research and development.
Provide public support for the startup of seed collectives, seed banks, small seed
companies, and other ways of disseminating and sharing seed in both rural and urban
areas.
Incentivize quality over quantity: Instead of subsidizing mass production of just a few
commodity crops, support farmers attempting to transition to organic and/or more
sustainable practices. Consider (and incentivize) diversified farming operations as a form
of on-farm conservation.
Learn from the Global South: Consider the Organization of African Unity’s African
Model Legislation for the Protection of the Rights of Local Communities, Farmers, and
Breeders, and for the Regulation of Access to Biological Resources, Bhutan’s National
Organic Policy, El Salvador’s nationwide ban of 53 agrochemicals in Sept 2013, and El
Salvador’s 2008 Constitutional Amendment to add food sovereignty and a commitment
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to preserve biodiversity, as starting points for the United States to reform our legislative
framework around seeds and farming.
Remove patents on life: Incentivize, don’t criminalize, seed-saving and sharing.
IV. INTERNATIONAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:
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Keep seed, agriculture, and food out of the World Trade Organization and trade
agreements. Food and seeds are the foundation for community and state sovereignty.
Trade agreements should not include any provisions related to food or agriculture,
including policies related to agricultural subsidies or regulation of genetically engineered
crops. Each country’s food needs and systems are unique, therefore “policy
harmonization” of food or agricultural policies must not be sought or incentivized.
As an extension of removing patents on life, dismantle the International Union for the
Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) structure and roll back UPOV provisions in
countries that have already implemented them.
Instead, implement the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (‘The International Seed Treaty’), which says that “International cooperation
and open exchange of genetic resources are essential for food security.”
Implement the recommendations of the International Assessment of Agricultural
Knowledge, Science, & Technology for Development (IAASTD), as well as those made by
former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier DeSchutter, in his final
report.
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RESOURCES
(click on text below to link to online resources)
BACKGROUND & CURRENT SITUATION
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April edition of Presbyterians Today (Specifically on seeds):
Our Seeds, Our Future - La Via Campesina publication bit.ly/1j9W35J
Promoting Seed Sovereignty http://bit.ly/1h0BKTe
Seed Freedom Video bit.ly/1fofuTv , Declaration bit.ly/1dyjsOG & Facebook page
on.fb.me/1pAcOap
Seed Industry Structure Info-Graphic bit.ly/1dyjHcy
Organic Food and Industry Infographic bit.ly/1heIAsI
Overlap of USDA and Monsanto bit.ly/1mwV6Y8
International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, & Technology for
Development bit.ly/OYrd59
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture bit.ly/O085SZ
Seeds for Life: Scaling up Agro-Biodiversity bit.ly/1pcTPEi
Putting the Cartel Before the Horse bit.ly/1o4MrOp
Transcripts from joint USDA / DOJ hearing on concentration in food and agriculture,
Ankeny, IA. 1.usa.gov/1pAcXuo
SEED FINDING
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Seed Finder: Online guide for finding non-patented and organic
seeds: www.organicseedfinder.org
Some seed companies that focus on organic, open-pollinated, heirloom and traditional
varieties:
o Fedco www.fedcoseeds.com
o Adaptive Seeds www.adaptiveseeds.com
o Native Seed Search www.nativeseeds.org
o Sierra Seeds Cooperative www.sierraseeds.org
o Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds www.rareseeds.com
o Kitazawa Seeds – esp. Asian heirloom varieties www.kitazawaseed.com
SEED SAVING/KEEPING & SEED LIBRARIES
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ORGANIC SEED ALLIANCE www.seedalliance.org
o Participatory Plant Breeding Toolkit bit.ly/1rGep2f
o A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers bit.ly/1rGep2f
o Organic Seed Resource Guide bit.ly/QkfQFt
o Organic Seed Production Tutorials bit.ly/1mwVUfz
Seed Saving Resources from Seed Savers Exchange bit.ly/1gGnBQF
How To Save A Public Library: Make It A Seed Bank n.pr/1dwn7fo
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How to Start a Community Seed Project bit.ly/1heL0aC
Seed Saving Powerpoint Presentations and PDFs: www.slideshare.net/PX8
International Seed Saving Institute: www.seedsave.org/issi/issi.html
Dropbox to a Seed Library School Organizing Kit (a veritable treasure
trove!): bit.ly/1l7PXTw
The Seed Library Social Network seedlibraries.org
SEED GROUPS & RESOURCES
Native Food Resources:
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Occidental Arts and Ecology Center: www.oaec.org
Native Harvest/White Earth Land Recovery Project: www.nativeharvest.com
Native Seeds/SEARCH: www.nativeseeds.org
TCEDC Taos Food Center: www.tcedc.org/TFC.html
Tohono O’odham Community Action: www.tocaonline.org
New Mexico Acequias Association: www.lasacequias.org
Seed Sovereignty Alliance: www.lasacequias.org/programs/seed-alliance
Food and Seed Sovereignty Conferences: www.foodandseedconference.info
Traditional Native American Farmers Association: www.tnafa.org/TNAFA.html
Grassroots Group out of the Northwest: http://seedambassadors.org/
Organic Seed Alliance – Regions:
o seedalliance.org/southeast
o seedalliance.org/california
o seedalliance.org/pacific_northwest
Seed Quotes
“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that
bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. Genesis 1:10-12
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” ―
Martin Luther
“Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get
any seeds.” ― Norman Vincent Peale
“Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to
counter economic monopoly and to check the advance of conformity on all its many fronts.” ―
Michael Pollan
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“We need to decentralise our food system, and if we need to decentralise our food system,
decentralise seed provisioning. Seed sovereignty must become very central to food
sovereignty.” – Vandana Shiva
“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson
“All the magic of creation exists within a single tiny seed.” – The Wise Old Sprite of the Forest,
from the animated film Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.
KEYWORDS/GLOSSARY
Agroecology is a set of practices that are socially just because they are based on local
knowledge of those who work the land and the leadership of women and young people;
environmentally friendly because they are based on local materials, protection of biodiversity
and the rights of Mother Earth; and economically sustainable because they are based on local
communities’ basic needs for healthy food, support to local economies, and democratic
distribution of resources.
Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or "any
technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make
or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2)
Commodification is the process of treating something that cannot be owned or that everyone
has a right to like a product that can be bought and sold.
Commodity Crops:
Commons refers to all natural resources, information, and any product derived from collective
wisdom, work, and traditional knowledge. Commons are held as a collective wealth to be
shared and maintained.
Cultural heritage refers to artifacts, seeds, traditions and ways of living that are passed from
generation to generation. In the text, we also use “agricultural heritage” which is a similar tern,
but is directed to the act of agriculture, the production of food for sustenance.
Deregulation: In this context, deregulation is the process whereby the government enables a
new genetically modified product to enter the market for sale and use. Also called “approval”.
Food Sovereignty (From the Declaration of the International Forum on Food Sovereignty, held in
Mali in 2007 – also known as the Nyéléni Declaration): “Food sovereignty is the right of peoples
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to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable
methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the
aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute, and consume food at the heart of food
systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations. It defends the
interests and inclusion of the next generation.”
Free Trade Agreements Treaty (such as FTAA or NAFTA) between two or more countries to
establish a free trade area where commerce in goods and services can be conducted across their
common borders, without tariffs or hindrances but (in contrast to a common market) capital or labor
may not move freely. Member countries usually impose a uniform tariff (called common external
tariff) on trade with non-member countries.
GMOs: Refers to Genetically Modified Organisms. Genetically modified (or genetically
engineered) plants, animals, and seeds have had their DNA altered in a laboratory, forcibly
adding genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria. This is a relatively new kind of
biotechnology, and is very different form what has happened naturally over millennia (even if
we consider human interaction and influence on natural evolutionary processes).
Heirloom varieties: Crop seeds that are preserved and passed down by different generations
of a family or community to succeeding generations.
IAASTD: Sponsored by the World Bank and the United Nations, the International Assessment
of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD) is the most
comprehensive global assessment of agriculture to date. Authored by 400 scientists and
development experts from over 80 countries, it highlights the urgent need to undertake major
shifts in governance, trade, finance and development policies in order to “feed the world.”
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Commonly referred
to as ‘The International Seed Treaty’, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture calls for farmers, plant breeders and scientists to have universal access to
plant genetic materials, thus challenging monopolistic control of global seed systems.
Rights of Mother Earth: A recognition that all beings, forests, water, and the earth itself has
rights. The concept was elaborated into the Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth at an
international gathering in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in 2010. The term Rights of Nature is also used
to describe this concept.
Seed Keeping is seed saving which emphasizes the cultural traditions associated with the seed
and plant, which may include agronomic as well as social practices (i.e. familial, ritual,
communal and identity).
Seed Saving is the practice of saving seeds or other reproductive material (e.g. tubers) from
vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers for use from year to year for annuals and nuts, tree fruits,
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and berries for perennials and trees. This is the traditional way farms and gardens were
maintained.
Sherman Act: The Sherman Act of 1890 is a federal statute that prohibits anticompetitive
business practices and requires the government to investigate and pursue trusts.
Terminator seeds are seeds that produce sterile plants, used in some genetically modified
crops so that a new supply of seeds has to be bought every year.
UPOV [Convention]: The International Convention on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
codifies, institutionalizes, and internationalizes the privatization of seed systems by establishing
patent rights over seed genetic material. First adopted in 1961 (latest revision in 1991, hence
also often referred to as UPOV ’91), it also established an organizational known as the
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, with headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland.
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